Have you checked your cabin air filter lately?

You probably know your car has an air filter. It’s under the hood, and makes sure that dirt and bugs coming into the front of the vehicle don’t enter the engine. Ford recommends you change your air filter every 15000-30000 miles depending on your driving conditions.

What you might not know is that you have another air filter – a cabin air filter. This one is harder to find, although most are behind the glove box. Cabin air filters first turned up in mid-90’s Fords, becoming standard across all lines by 2015. The cabin air filter’s job is to stop dust, pollen, smog, and other pollutants in the air from passing through the air conditioning and heating system, and your vents. Ford recommends you change your cabin air filter every 15000-20000 miles depending on your driving conditions.

With the conditions over the summer this year, if you haven’t had yours changed in a while, it’s well worth considering. 2026 has seen intense pollen impact spaced out across the months. Tree pollen in May, summer grass pollen in June and July, and weed pollen hitting from August through September. Adding to that, the overall air quality has been record-shatteringly terrible, driven by active wildfires blowing particulate matter directly across the Midwest.

The good news? When you visit our service department for your regular maintenance and oil changes, our technicians check your cabin air filter. You might have even seen them bring filters out to show folks in our lounge area. If a filter still looks good, they’ll put it back in and not worry about it. If it’s time for a new one, they’ll bring your filter over to show the condition and ask if you’d like it replaced. You can always also request a replacement cabin air filter during your service.

Speaking of that, I have an oil change today myself, and I know it’s time for a cabin air filter on my own truck!

Ben